Many wireless and landline telephone system users take advantage of voice messaging or voice mail capabilities. Using voice messaging, a user can leave a voice message for an unavailable message recipient, so that the user need not continue to try and contact the message recipient. Such systems are convenient, as repeated attempts to contact one or more message recipients can be avoided. Such systems are equally convenient for message recipients as messages can be received even when the message recipient is otherwise occupied. Received messages can be played back subsequently as the message recipient's schedule permits. As a result, a message sender and a message recipient can communicate by voice messaging without being simultaneously available.
While voice messaging systems are convenient, they exhibit several difficulties. A message recipient typically is generally unaware of the nature of received voice messages without listening to the messages. In some systems, message duration and message origin are available, but message content is generally unknown. In addition, if the message recipient notes that messages have been received but defers listening to the messages, important, time sensitive messages may not be listened to in time for an appropriate response. Thus, while deferring a review of voice messages prevents message recipient interruption, such deferred review can be too late.
Thus, improved methods and apparatus are needed for voice message delivery.